Witness Denies Being Influenced by Gates : King case: Commander tells defense attorney he concluded on his own that excessive force was used.

The views of Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates entered the trial of four officers Monday as a police commander was asked if he was echoing Gates’ opinions in his testimony about the Rodney G. King beating.

Cmdr. Michael Bostic, who testified earlier that the beating became unreasonable and excessive, hotly denied that he was programmed to testify a certain way.

“I’m quite capable of making my own decisions without influence from other people,” Bostic told defense attorney John Barnett, who was trying to discredit his crucial prosecution testimony.

Barnett, who represents Officer Theodore J. Briseno, suggested that Bostic, the highest-ranking officer to testify so far, was Gates’ personal spokesman at the trial.

“You know the chief wanted these four guys hung by the yardarm, didn’t you?” asked Barnett.

“That’s not true. I never heard the chief say that,” said Bostic.

The officers on trial for alleged assault are Briseno, 39, Sgt. Stacey C. Koon, 41, and Officers Timothy E. Wind, 31, and Laurence M. Powell, 29.

King, who is black, was beaten by white police officers on March 3, 1991, after a car chase. A bystander’s videotape of the incident was shown on television and fueled racial tensions in Los Angeles. It also prompted nationwide calls for investigations of police brutality.

When attorney Michael Stone took over cross-examination of Bostic, he brought up the fact that Gates had called the beating “an aberration.” Bostic said he was aware of that.

“Did you hear him say that any department member who disagreed with him would rue the day he did?” asked Stone.

“No,” said Bostic. “I don’t recall that.”

“Is it your testimony that you’re not influenced by the chief’s opinion?” asked Stone.

“That’s correct,” said Bostic. “I make my own independent judgments because that is my role in the organization.”

Gates has not testified in the trial and has said he does not plan to appear.

Bostic, who chairs the department’s use-of-force review board, was called as a prosecution rebuttal witness to contradict two defense experts who testified that the force used on King was within LAPD policy.

Defense lawyers challenged Bostic’s objectivity as well as his ability to judge the officers without feeling the emotions they felt in the field.

“I felt quite a few emotions as a matter of fact,” Bostic said. “My judgment isn’t that simple because my judgment affects the careers of those people I am making the judgment against.”

Last week, Bostic viewed the videotape in court, stopped it after the first burst of blows and said everything after that was unreasonable force.

Asked by Stone if he thought everything that occurred up to that point was “in policy,” Bostic answered, “No.”

“You can’t tell because of the poor quality of the tape whether the officers’ actions were in or out of policy,” he said.

All four officers on trial have pleaded not guilty.